The Ford Carter Administrations Ford Not Elected Ford

The Ford & Carter Administrations

Ford Not Elected Ford (who was the House Minority Leader from Michigan) was appointed Vice President by Nixon to replace VP Agnew, who resigned due to bribery charges. n When Nixon resigned, Ford then became President. n Ford then appointed Nelson Rockefeller to be VP. n

Controversial Pardon Nixon faced criminal charges in the federal courts. n Ford decided to pardon Nixon of alleged crimes. n The pardon was criticized widely, but he defended it. n

Stagflation : A Very Sick 70’s Economy n Stagflation= high unemployment + high inflation ¨ You can’t fix one problem without making the other worse! n Causes of inflation: ¨ OPEC forms / 1973 oil embargo because US supported Israel in Yom Kippur War/ prices rise n Causes of unemployment: 9% unemployed ¨ Decline of factories / rise of service jobs ¨ Foreign competition

Whip Inflation Now Called for voluntary wage / price freezes n Created jobs, lowered taxes. n No quick fixes in sight. n

What the Country Needed Honest, open, good man. n Underappreciated at the time. n Burdened with bad economic and social challenges that had no easy answers. n

Questions to Ponder… What audience was the speech intended for? Why is this significant? n What 3 justifications did Ford use to pardon Nixon? n Which justification do you think is most significant? n Based on the speech, what was life like in the United States at the time the speech was delivered? n

Nixon would have never had a fair trial.

People who have given great service to their nation should be pardoned/forgiven when breaking the law.

Pardoning Nixon was in the best interest of the American people.

Ford was sincere when he said he put America’s healing first.

Prosecuting Nixon would have made the feel of American even worse.

A Wholesome Outsider Elected: Carter Was a born again Christian. n An unassuming peanut farmer. n Not tainted by Washington. n

Domestic Problems: n Dependence on oil increases our sense of vulnerability as inflation and shortages result.

Carter’s Solutions n National Energy Act: taxes gas guzzlers, gives tax credits for solar energy, allows gas prices to rise n Inflation: Cut spending, allowed interest rates to rise n Malaise speech: gave a speech in which he laid out all the problems, but gave few solutions.

Foreign Policy Pressured countries to protect human rights (think Bill of Rights) n Agreed to return the Panama Canal Zone to Panama in 1997. n SALT II signed with Soviet Union n Soviets invade Afghanistan to help form communist government n ¨ SALT II treaty is pulled ¨ Americans boycott 1980 Olympics in Moscow

Israel and Egypt Map

Camp David Accords Spent weeks with the leaders of Israel and Egypt. n Made a deal: n ¨ Egypt recognized Israel as a legitimate nation. ¨ Israel returned the Sinai Peninsula to Egypt. n The most significant progress ever made in the Middle East conflict b/w Israel and surrounding Arab nations.

Iran

Iranian Hostage Crisis n n n Iran hates us for supporting a corrupt king, who they call the “shah” A Muslim cleric inspires a revolt and the shah flees to the U. S. 52 Americans are taken hostage in the U. S. embassy in Tehran until we return the shah. We refuse & the shah dies in the U. S. of natural causes. An attempted rescue fails and 8 men die in the effort. The hostages are held for 444 days, and only released when Reagan becomes president.

Affirmative Action Fuels White Backlash University of California v. Bakke: n The court rules that colleges cannot use quotas (setting aside a certain % of spots for minorities) when considering who will be accepted to public colleges. n

Effectiveness: Carter n Not very: ¨ Had good ideas, but outsider status hurt his ability to get things done with Congress ¨ Like Ford, plagued with unsolvable economic woes. ¨ Brilliance of Camp David overshadowed by hostage crisis debacle.